Friday, 31 October 2008

This is from Monch's last album 'Desire' which really, really held me down last summer. It's the only rap album I listened to while recording 'Devil In The Distance'. I listened to 'Desire' a lot and watched 'Fade To Black' a lot. A cover of the Public Enemy classic of course.

One of the truly great moments in hip-hop history. If you don't know about the Rocafella takeover in 2001 then you need to Google that shit. Alan Yentob should have gone to Cipha Sounds for the real Jay-Z story. This footage has only just surfaced, after 7 years. Cipha needs to unleash the whole thing. The Lox and Nas only just recovered from this session here.

Thursday, 30 October 2008

I just came across this on Youtube. I think Example's doing Sumo again next month. This was a pretty cool gig. Also found on Youtube; 'Get By (Be Good)' and 'Superhero' uploaded to Universal's Youtube page, but by the looks of it, they've gone and ripped the clips from Youtube. Lord knows why?

So David Tennant announced that he's stepping down as Dr Who yesterday. He was a great Doctor but I think that last series ran a bit thin. I'm not sure if Katherine Tate was great casting. The last episode of the series was as bad as I've known a Dr Who episode too. So while David's reputation is still intact it seems correct that a new star take the reigns. Paddy Power have got odds on who will be next up. There are some interesting names there, some not so interesting, Patterson Joseph at the top is strange but that's because I only really know him from Peep Show. I have compiled a few actors who are not on that list who I think would be good Doctors. Does that make me some kind of nerd? Probably. But who are you? Cheeeeiiifff...

Name: Damien LewisDate of Birth:February 11, 1971From:St John's Wood, LondonFamous For:Playing Major Richard D. Winters in Band of Brothers.Reason:Damien Lewis would be a good choice for a number of reasons. The first being that he is an excellent actor of course, the second being that he has a profile in America which would help push the show to the already keen American market. Famous for his stage roles, Damien set up his own theatre company when he was 16 years old. He studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama alongside Daniel Craig.

Name:Lennie JamesDate of Birth:11 October 1965From:South LondonFamous For:Roles in Snatch, 24 Hour Party People, Sahara and a starring roll in the criminally underrated Channel 4 series Buried.Reason:Lennie James is absolutely one of the most underrated actors in Britain today. With rumours floating since David Tennant's appointment that the next Doctor could be black Lennie James represents one of the absolute peak British Black actors. Also he wrote and directed the only film I ever featured in; Storm Damage in 2000.

Name:Dominic WestDate of Birth:15 October 1969From:SheffieldFamous For:Playing Jimmy McNulty in what has been described as "The greatest TV show of all time" The Wire.Reason:Another Brit abroad; Dominic put in a perfect performance as renegade Detective Jimmy McNulty in The Wire. Like James and Lewis mentioned above, he graduated the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1995.

Wednesday, 29 October 2008

Another example of the things government gets away with while the economy is good. The BBC is an arm of the government, let's not pretend otherwise. A couple of years ago Britain wouldn't really latch onto a story like this but right now, Britain is interested. So much so that the BBC had to suspend their two franchise faces. You don't know how much this is hurting them right now. They basically managed to sweep the fake calls/competitions scandal under the rug without any on air talent losing their jobs. In many ways this is worse, in most ways though, this is nowhere near as bad, but the British people can only take so much. Without being too righteous, this is fully deserved. I'm glad it's being taken seriously.

Some actual Grime? I thought all they were making was sweet boy under-18s power ballads these days? Thank fuck for this. Roachee spits that real grime shit. Haha. I honestly thought it was gone forever.

So it snowed in London last night. The first time it's snowed in London in October since 1934. I blogged about global warming's most damaging PR year to date in the summer, now I really feel like we're being conned. I know a lot of the wrong people at ugly newspapers and radio stations will be saying what I'm saying and I can't control that, but we need to look at what we're actually being told here; summers/ winters are getting warmer? Sea levels will rise? These things are not actually true. The very opposite is proven to be true. I'm reliably informed that it's actually been winter temperatures in the East Coast of the United States for a few weeks now. Yet "Green" legislation continues to dominate all major European manifestos. Why? We're about to enter a cold winter (both literally and figuratively), we're supposed to believe that the people who led us into it (skipping and laughing) will lead us out, just because "That's what happens in a recession. You get out of it" and fuel prices are set to rise yet again. During this time we're told that we should insulate our own homes, we should cut back on heating bills, why? Because the shit's running out! Of course it is! The more the natural resources drain, the harder it is for us to keep our homes warm, that's basic, but don't dress it up as something it's not to support your eventual movement into nuclear energy.

I know there are seriously respected people who have come to accept the theory of global warming, people who have been skeptics for decades now endorse "Green legislation" but while there's no real effort to explain what we see with our own two eyes, there's no hope for Global Warming as a concept in Britain. It will be a form of people control until the people don't want it any more (we have a government that does a lot with the left hand while the right hand does tricks, generally it can't maintain it and it all comes crashing down ala this economy), the British people shouldn't be taken lightly, the more this government has encroached on our civil liberties and taken the right to enforce morals on us and our children, the less likely they are to win the next election (not that I really think they have a chance any way). But it's amazing what they got away with in a good economy, who was complaining? House prices were going up and everybody was going on holiday, personal debt was being repaid slowly but surely. Now, approaching the cold winter, people have to take stock, what use is green reform when you can't pay off your credit card bill? Labour said at the last election "Labour is working, let's not go back to 3 million unemployed" good idea. Now will somebody with some credibility come out and say something constructive about the environment? I see Boris pimping it for his own end, I see Labour pimping it to their own end, I see Dave pimping it to his own end, but all it is right now is a whore with a lot of vaginas, fucking us at every opportunity and charging us for the pleasure. Can this monster continue to exist in a purely party-political atmosphere?

Really went off on a tangent there. I did not expect to use the word "Vaginas" in this post.

Tuesday, 28 October 2008

You all know how I feel about cocaine. If you don't, you might want to check out my new mixtape our even watch this video I put up this morning. NME.com is reporting today that cocaine 'has dropped in strength'. My question is, should NME.com really be reporting that? I mean, they should report what they want, but is it healthy for them to post that story when their following is generally of the ages between about 11 and 17? I can understand them running a story about cocaine, it's terrible and there are aspects of this story that act as deterrents. Talking about the way the cocaine is cut, with dangerous chemicals and such but ending with the quotes "You need a lot more [cocaine], you spend a lot more money to get the right effect and you still can't get the buzz." and "I don't take it anymore because it's all talcum powder and paracetamol." probably don't send the greatest message. Maybe I'm overanalysing. Check the link below...

Monday, 27 October 2008

The best band in the world are Art Brut. I genuinely believe that. Not only are they the best, but they get better, I haven't seen them live since the summer when I saw them with a live brass section at ULU -an incredible gig, but I know- they'll be even better next time, that's just how it seems to work. Rumours began circulating this morning that they're about to start work on their third album and it's going to be produced by Black Francis of The Pixies. Eddie has got a few great side projects on the go, he featured on a Christmas single last year and this summer he's been running around with his new glam rock band Glam Chops (who I'm yet to actually see, I hear they're great though).

Here it is. 4 months after My last tape, 3 months after My debut album. I give you, mixtape of the year 2008. I'm so proud of this thing right here. It actually ended up taking about a month longer than intended. Bang this in your whips, your headphones, your houseparties, your evictions! This is Recession music right here. This is industrial, the 80s are back, I don't give a fuck, dole queue, dark nights, cold days music right here. Send the link to your friends, post it on your forums, post it on your blogs, put the songs on BitTorrent, this is not for profit, this is not for a label, this is not for the radio, this is not for the critics, this is for the people who want it, the people who need it. This is for you and yours.Beats From: N*E*R*D, Masta Ace, Joell Ortiz, Ice Cube, Bun-B, Murs and more from the world of hip-hop as well as hot new tracks from the world of Dancehall.

Friday, 24 October 2008

Ace Hood does well, Juelz does okay, Fabolous is pretty good but Jada goes in. Should we be excited for this Jadakiss album? I learned a long time ago not to waste my time being excited for Jadakiss albums but who knows? He's been talking about "I need a down south track and a west coast track" which is a horrible way of approaching an album so I'm going to go out on a limb early by saying the album will suck.

It's such a shame by the way that a performance like Ace Hood's there, a few years ago would have resulted in quite a few people going out to buy his record, that's how it used to work, now we download. I was talking about this concept the other day, the thrill of purchasing records on merit and not knowing whether it was garbage or not (I bought some garbage albums in my time). A great guest feature, a great video, a great TV spot, a great interview, a great Source cover, what now?

Thursday, 23 October 2008

Ouch my brain. Who knew putting a shotgun to my chin and pulling the trigger could be so much better than listening to Craig David rap like Giggs? You probably would have guessed. Fortunately I did not put a shotgun to my chin. No, "Urban" music did though. Way to go UK! Why the fuck would anybody want to be associated with that shit? I'm going to listen to Giggs now. Restore my faith in rap.

If you don't know about Mavado, watch this short documentary. If you do, watch this short documentary. Mavado is the shit. I don't know how to list him, I think he's the artist with the most underground buzz in any genre in the world. Maybe him, Uncle Murda and Giggs.

I promised more details today. Let's see...what can I tell you? Well, I can tell you that there is a production debut on the tape from Ben Official. He's featured in a few of our videos and drives us places sometimes. The tape is built around actual songs, rather than freestyles [which is what the last tape was built around]. I went out of my way to find instrumentals that actually represent something within me. Two of the songs are long verses, they're possibly my two favourites. I don't actually know how many bars long they are. I was going to find out but I realised that's what rappers do and I'm not like the others. It's a song...with no chorus...or bridge. I invented a word on one song...what else is there? Okay, one more thing, I actually borrowed hooks on two songs. Oh yeah one other thing. I cut a song. We cut a song. I'll let that out in a couple of weeks maybe.

I just left the studio with a piece of paper. It has a list of songs. Jack's still there. He's exporting. Do you know what exporting means? It means the tape is done. Mixtape of the year. I'm sorry it took until October for the mixtape of the year to come out. I couldn't help it. This thing right here? This thing right here? Wednesday.

Friday, 17 October 2008

Best piece of television I have seen in years. Honest to god. The way they developed the Niall storyline over 2 years was brilliant. Absolutely fantastic. The character development was superb. There are major stories unresolved, they threw out red herrings, the music, the acting. I can't believe I'm saying this about a soap but honestly it was incredible. Hollyoaks is the only soap I watch, the genius scheduling of the Sunday morning Omnibus and the post-Simpsons week day slot got me hooked.

*Mel-B went to the M'oh-B'oh's dressed as a Galaxy High character apparently...So I personally know somebody who paid their money to attend the M'oh-Boh's the other night. With all due respect to this person, they very much represent the pinnacle of wackness. If they are in any way representative of the general MOBO audience then Tim Westwood, Dizzee Rascal and Leona Lewis should really not take it to heart in any way. Well...maybe Leona Lewis should take it to heart, I think she's taught to feel things at appropriate times to appear triumphant in the face of adversity. I think that class comes right after "Singing" and "Street dance". You know nobody in the street beyond the age of 14 actually does "Street dance" right? I'm really breaking the walls of "Black entertainment" down today.

Thursday, 16 October 2008

Jack was telling me about this backstage yesterday. I just found it on Gorillamask. I'm about to make myself a hot chocolate and watch me some classic rasslin'! That Dudley Boyz Vs. Edge & Christian Vs. The Hardy Boyz Tables Ladders and Chairs match looks fun. The Michaels Vs. Ramone Ladder match is a classic. Man rasslin' used to be the shit.

It was Marv's world, party time ecstasy. After ranting about the MOBO Awards for a solid 30 minutes after soundcheck, I read that Westwood got booed when he went to pick up his award. I could break down why he got booed, by the dumbest fucks on the planet who hold back "Black music" (whatever that is) in the UK but to be honest, I can't be fucked. The MOBO Awards doesn't have 2 years left so we should just wait it out. Booing Dizzee Rascal because he's out of the country? We want him to be out of the country. Taking it to the world. Fucking idiots.

Anyway. I performed a number of new mixtape tracks, they went down nicely, I learned a lot about the material. It helped that people were in party spirits of course. Shout out to my boy Iain Lee who was meant to introduce me but some wires got crossed and I went up with no celebrity endorsement. We'd worked out a really good intro involving Jelly Fish and me being the best thing in the world too. Shame. The Big Dog arrived during my set to get his Serato ready, Westwood is the shit, he tore down, he played big tracks for an audience that doesn't know about the majority of the big tracks, but he played them like a Big Dog. I holla'd at him after the show, he was his usual humble, pleasant self. I'm gonna try and arrange an invasion show, you know Westwood needs Marvin on his show. I will tear down.

Shout outs to Chris who's on his way to Tennessee right this second, Marc on his way to L.A on Friday [where he will perform on the Carson Daily Show, then in NY he will perform on David Letterman] and Joe who put on a good night and really looked after everybody in the place. Also shouts to Art War who I did an interview with before the gig, then they filmed the show, so we'll have some new video content up pretty soon.

Uh oh! Some people are about to be mad as fuck. The intelligence is starting to make itself evident. If you've been into Plies at all over the last 12-18 months then you knew the guy was smart; he's smart. He doesn't say shit to anybody but he moves crazy units and his albums are consistent as hell. He's about to drop his third record in under 2 years which is an amazing feat. He's never had a rapper featured on any of his records and his fanbase is seriously loyal. I remember when the complexities of Young Jeezy started to show themselves on his second album and people had to eat their words, now you listen to 'Thug Motivation 101' and you can not deny it's a classic, I feel like Plies has a classic in him.

This is funny. I love Americans by the way. I should make that clear. This is funny, so is Madonna, so is Jessica Alba, so is John McCain, so is Barack Obama, so is Hillary Clinton. But I love Americans, I love America, I am a fan. But this is funny.

So Just Blaze has already explained what the deal is with this record, It was recorded in the Blueprint 2 era and should never have leaked. You'll notice the Fat Joe disses in his verse, not a lot of people know that Jay went at Joe with the subliminals for years "Everybody's looping up soul, it's like they're trying to make the Blueprint 2 before Hov", I remember Why Lout? sitting down and listening to 'Jelous Ones Still Envy' the day it dropped and going "The fuck is this? He thinks he's Jay!?" You may also remember "The pressure's on but guess who aint gonna CRACK? Pardon me I had to laugh at that" straight, sideways, corner mouth sublime. Jay was the best with the sublimes, it's why you can't be beefing with him.

Anyway, back to the song. I don't care that it's an old Jay verse with an old Just beat. I just care that I'm hearing Murda and Jay on a track together. Internets get on your job, you know we need this collaboration, we actually need Jay-Z Feat. Uncle Murda & Jadakiss on that 'Blueprint 3' but that may be asking a lot. We all need to post this song and say "God damn Murda went in. Him and Jay need a record together" then we may get one. What was it Joe Budden said during his beef with Ransom? "Internet sooollldddiiieeerrrsss"

Thursday, 9 October 2008

Americans should really not be allowed to do politics. Let the world vote for your President, you really shouldn't be trusted. No offence. My problem is, if I was American, I would probably be voting for the same person as Madonna. That would probably inspire me not to vote at all. Madonna says Sarah Palin should "Get off of her street"? What the hell are you talking about woman? Seriously, why do these people feel they're doing good by publicly endorsing politicians? It doesn't help. Really. Just stop. Please.

Westwood is the man. I can't believe people still bring that old tired rhetoric about him being from Lowestoft and him not supporting British artists. It's stupid. Nobody's asking why Funk Master Flex is still DJ'ing at his age. Whether people like it or not, Westwood is easily as important as Flex, or Clue, or anybody else. You only need to listen to an episode of Juan Epstein to find out how respected he is.

On a semi-related note, [I didn't post this link just to draw attention to this fact, as you know I generally stick up for Westwood] I'm performing at a party with Westwood on Wednesday. That is going to be big dogs. Last time I performed on the same bill as the Big Dog I tore down. Shout outs to the Islington Academy crew.

Wednesday, 8 October 2008

The best example I could possibly give for this government's time in charge of Britain would be this news story on BBC.co.uk today MPs attempt to force smacking ban. I don't need to type on this blog that children need protection, I also don't need to write that smacking a child and "leaving a mark" (whatever that means?) is pretty unnecessary at any time. But the idea that these useless civil servants who have nannies looking after their children can tell me whether or not my child deserves a clip around the ear for misbehaving is absurd. It's criminally absurd. I can imagine it being one of the policies in a totalitarian state "If you can not adjust your child without the use of your hands. The state will adjust them for you". State raised children! Yey! As the youth of Britain continue to lose touch with authority and fill the void with their own set ethics and views on justice the big plan is to remove the parent as a force in any real sense between the crucial ages of 3 and 14. I like it. Can we just get this bill passed already? I really want a kebab but I'm thinking about waiting 15 years and buying it from Peckham. Something tells me it may be a tad rough up there in 2023.

Monday, 6 October 2008

This article raises some pretty crucial points. I've personally grown more and more distant from certain forms of music because of what I perceive as some sort of posh-boy piss-take hobby. I don't think the article properly asks the question of class in pop music, but it goes half the way, it talks about perception and of the distance, I personally feel there's a big difference in infrastructure, which may not interest a lot of people but I think it's the truth. It's always easier to sit and claim the other side has it better, but I know that unless I become a pastiche of my background then I'm going to have trouble being pigeonholed. Or I can pretend to be one of "them" and get myself pigeonholed in a much easier box for certain areas of media and press to associate. If I could draw for examples such as Goldie Looking Chain, a great group, a great bunch of lads, but their success comes from the pastiche of the working class, not in a negative way (in my opinion), they entertain in a very British way. Mike Skinner though, a couple of great albums, he managed to paint a pastiche working class character for Britain to follow and its managed to follow him all the way to the other side. His new album seems like a pastiche of the middle class (with all due respect) but he fits on Radio 2 now, he fits on Radio 1 regardless, he's in The Observer, The Guardian and The Times, but he's also in NME. Either way there are enough important people able to tap their noses and go "We've got them now" for Skinner to keep pumping it out, if it doesn't work this time around? Well he can always be a lad on the next album. Again, I mean no disrespect here, it's the politics of the top, I'm nowhere near there so I couldn't begin to imagine what pressure's you're under up there. Just like I couldn't imagine what pretending to be something you're not would be like. It's not new, great bands from The Clash down have had "Working class heroes" who were in actual fact nothing of the sort. Does it breed resentment? Absolutely. But the resentment from the working class to the middle and upper class is a hot topic in Britain at the moment. We've had a rough 10 years, we went from Hoodies, to ASBOs, to knife and gun wielding murderers, so much so that top ranking politicians absolutely would not walk our streets at night. Quote unquote. Unfortunately for us though, there are too many "Artists" who should be giving voice to this frustration, trying to blend in with the status quo. Those who are not completely oblivious of course. I've gone off on a bit of a tangent here. A lot of people want to create a problem between politicians and the working class on the issue of "Walking these streets" when actually common sense is absolutely not class exclusive, if you've got it, you've got it. Community policing? Bullshit. ASBOs? Bullshit. Big government? Bullshit. I could go on. I won't, I'm way off topic. I wake up some days and I think "I just want to do this for poor people". It's a genuine emotion, but I know I have fans from all walks of life and they all take something from my music, maybe something different, maybe the same things but that's the challenge. I have to say things that make sense, that cross any boundary, not by design but by default, I never structured my music with a specific audience in mind. Maybe that's my bad. But that's definitely why I feel so separated from the kinds of music this article is about. I get the sense that a lot of bands make music for their class group, it just so happens that the middle-class is the class that buys your records, merch and tickets. Maybe I'm just bitter.

Sunday, 5 October 2008

That's special shit. Just hearing the greatest talk about what went into his first album. It's the same for all artists I think, it's funny because he dropped his debut album at the same age as me, his went over a lot of people's heads, he literally told his life story on the album. I don't want to compare my album to 'Reasonable Doubt', it's pretty pointless, but I probably could. I can definitely match the mindset of Jay based on this documentary to my mindset when I made 'Devil In The Distance'.

Friday, 3 October 2008

Take a few seconds to enjoy this photo of Jessica Alba. Remind yourself why she's so fantastic. Then take a deep breath click Here and watch that video. You have to try. This is my traditional Daily Challenge that I invented Yesterday. You can not hit the pause button or look away from the screen. I couldn't do it.

I'm performing this evening at Plan-B. DJ Yoda is headlining. I'm not sure of any other details, I heard ticket pre-sales were pretty nice so it should be a good night. I'm doing a strictly party set, strictly for the party, this set will include exclusive new mixtape cuts.

The image I have chosen for this blog post is a sign the council put up over the bridge off Atlantic Road a few years ago. It really bugs me because it's meant to say B Our Guest, with the B standing for Brixton, and from the angle the photo is taken from you can kind of see that. But walking towards it, it doesn't say "B Our Guest" it says "Bourguest" which reads like some fancy French word. It's also frustrating because there should really be an "E" next to that "B". I think they ran out of space or miscalculated or something.

On Question Time last night, Jacqui Smith (Home Secretary) tried to play party politics with the resignation of Sir Ian Blair. Her claim was that Boris Johnson should not have requested his resignation and that he made Sir Ian Blair's position untenable. What's amazing is that Jacqui Smith could claim this as a negative move by Boris Johnson, as the panel watched on smirking, Jacqui claimed that she had no choice but to accept his resignation in some sort stance of defiance against the London Mayor who believes that if he's to be held accountable for London's crime rate then he should have a role in deciding who his Metropolitan Police Chief is. Now let's get this straight, the all powerful Mayor of London roll was invented by this government and for anybody within it to dismiss Boris' claim out of pocket is stupid and hypocritical (this is Gordon Brown's government I know but still). I believe that if we're going to have an all powerful mayor (I personally did not, but now we have one) then he should be held accountable for our City's crime, at the moment he can not be. How do we make him accountable? That's something for the politicians to decide. Should we vote for our Met Chief? Or does the fact that we voted for Boris count enough that we trust him to make that decision? Should we have mayoral campaigns with potential Met Chief's attached to the ticket? That could get confusing. But the main point here, is that Boris said he had no faith in Sir Ian Blair and the majority of Londoners agreed. His ineptitude travels further back than his disgraceful handling of the shooting in Stockwell. Boris said he'd do everything in his power to remove Sir Ian Blair from his position and he did it. London voted for that policy, why does Jacqui Smith think she can laud this move over the Conservatives as some kind of moral victory? It makes no sense. I am personally delighted that Sir Ian Blair is no longer in charge of the Metropolitan Police. I punched the air when I heard the news. Genuinely.

I awake to the news that Peter Mandelson is back in the cabinet. Do I need to comment? There was a conversation on 5Live last night, before there was even a hint that Mandelson may be brought back and the consensus was that "The only way Gordon Brown could truly mess up a reshuffle that small would be if he appointed Satan or worse still Peter Mandelson". Completely said in jest, I actually laughed. The announcement this morning made me laugh a lot harder. Don't Gordon and Peter hate each other? Doesn't Britain absolutely despise Peter? Is Gordon so desperate for high profile Cabinet members that he'd actually swallow the poison marked "Tony Blair" to achieve it? His arsenal has now extended to Jacqui Smith (dead woman walking), Hazel Blears (politics machine, I think she could be the next Labour leader, she can not be phased), Alistair Darling (the best lightning rod in history, he just stands there absorbing Gordon's legacy), David Milliband (a worthless excuse for a human being by all accounts) and now Peter Mandelson. What good is he? Will he take hits for Gordon? Expect him and Mr Milliband to meet regularly over the next few months.

Wednesday, 1 October 2008

Sore throats and runny noses slowed the tape down, not a lot, maybe 24 hours. Jack's been mixing non-stop. Like literally non-stop. We're almost...ALMOST...AAALLLMMMOOOSSTT there. I'm going to have a tracklisting for you by the end of the week. We're hoping to drop next week. I'm making no promises. I need to build it up real nice.

Meh. I loved Mood Muzik 2. I was indifferent towards Mood Muzik 3 and when I went back to Mood Muzik 2 it sounded a little flat. I'm still a fan though. This is the first single from his new album (mixtape?). He pulls it off I guess.

Devil In The Distance

My name is Marvin [The Martian]. I am a rapper, my debut album 'Devil In The Distance' came out Summer 2008 through NoCarbon/Universal. This is my blog. I run it with help from Tego and my producer Jack Nimble. If you want to get at me, hit me on my email whylout(at)hotmail.com.